Fae
by N'tse Kaambl
Summary: An unusually powerful Sith Queen trapped by faux immortality gives her lost niece, Fae, to the First Order. Accompanied by a living bird carapace named Shira, Fae finds herself in the middle of a conflict with the Rebellion, but soon realizes they're not her only enemy. She must be trained in the ways of the Dark Side in order to survive. Her only question is "Why?"
1. Chapter 1: Happy Birthday

I think I may have posted a version of this story on this account a few years ago, then deleted it because (truth be told) it was pretty poorly written and I wasn't proud of it anymore. Well, I picked it up again, so here's a rewrite. I more-or-less built my own world around the lore of Star Wars- Fae is the result.

**If you're going to review this critically, I ask that you keep in mind that this was written as a fun project, one which loosely follows the canon storyline, and it's written to be that way! I intend on maintaining the integrity of canon characters and existing lore to the best of my ability. **

This story takes place 2 years prior to The Force Awakens.

* * *

Queen Jaya of Sehror sat at her throne in the entrance hall, entertaining a ballroom of guests. To her left perched Dawntreader, a thorn hawk with lavender eyes, today decorated with a crown of roses and many silken scarves.

"Happy birthday," Dawn said with a glint in her eye. "It's a beautiful party."

"Thank you." Jaya twirled a lock of cinnamon hair around a finger. "I only wish my mother and sister could have been here to see it."

"Oh, Jaya…"

"I know. I know it's my fault."

"Only Artemisha is. And even then… you did what was right."

"I suppose."

"Today is no time to discuss such matters, dearest Lady. Do you wish to dance?" Dawn gestured with a wing. "Surely someone might offer you one."

"Ah, very well." Jaya stood, golden robes swishing around her. "One dance, and only because you asked."

The lion-sized bird soared down to the dance floor, and Jaya followed suit, descending a brief flight of stairs. Dawn circled the Queen as she spun round elegantly, moving her arms in swirling circles.

"Excuse me, Lady Jaya."

Jaya paused, as did Dawn, to view their approacher. "Yes, sire?"

The man removed his hood, revealing a black mask trimmed with silver. Jaya stifled a gasp as Dawn got into a battle stance, growling.

"Give me two good reasons I shouldn't evaporate you, Kylo Ren." hissed the Thorn Hawk.

"I'm not here to fight with you. Not yet."

"Let's take this outside, before Dawn blows a second hole in my floor." The Queen's tone was stunningly light for such a grave situation. She firmly looped her arm in the man's, and strode out a side door, followed closely by an extremely tense Dawntreader.

"Lovely castle," commented the First Order commander. "Your mother had good taste."

"That she did," Jaya sighed, throwing open the doors to the Gardens. She sat Kylo down, crossed her arms, and gave him a stern glare. "You've got some nerve, coming here on my birthday."

"I trusted you not to kill me on sight."

"Kylo Ren, trusting anybody? That's a first." Jaya gave him a bemused smile.

He scowled. "Don't be mouthy, Lady. I'm here to make you an offer."

"oh?"

"My Master told me you know of a girl. She has Sehrorian blood, and great favor with the Dark side of the force. "

"Perhaps," sighed Jaya. "What's it to you?"

"You know what it is to me. Supreme Ruler Snoke wishes to acquire her skill set."

"Of course he does," sighed Jaya, pacing. "The woman you seek is my lost sister. Her name is Xylia of house Nimyane. Old, and never a user of her Darkness. Her daughter, however, is alive, and just as gifted as Xylia once was. But the young lady has no training. I doubt she knows who she is, or what she can do."

"You haven't tried to contact her?" Genuine surprise slipped through the filters of his mask.

"I do not wish to give her a destiny she does not want."

"How are you so sure she doesn't want it?"

"How can I be sure? _How can I be sure?!_ Look at me, Ben!" Jaya spun to face him, fire in her eyes. "A monster the Force refuses to let die! I exiled then killed my SISTER, I betrayed my mother's own dying wish, I sacrificed my humanity to the darkness, and for WHAT? This kingdom, I swore to protect? If they knew even a semblance of what I'd done, my people would never let me rule. I am not a worthy queen, child, nor am I a worthy teacher. And this girl of Xylia's would have the same doomed fate, if she follows my path!"

Slowly, teal green sigils began creeping around Jaya's arms and legs. Her pupils began expanding, their blue covering the whites in her eyes.

"You, Kylo, have the blood of thousands on your hands, but you know NOTHING of burdens."

The runes crawled around her neck.

"You know NOTHING of sacrifice."

Her hair began flying around like serpents.

"Of murdering someone who loved you beyond words."

The stone around her neck gleamed bright and hovered in the air as the Queen began to float upwards.

"Of watching your father, your mother DIE."

Dawn shuddered, as the air had grown colder and heavier. Its weight became suffocatingly thin.

"PERHAPS I SHOULD SHOW YOU THE LEGACY I BEAR!"

"Please stop her from suffocating us," squeaked Dawn.

Kylo grabbed the Queen's shoulders. "Jaya."

Dawn was on the ground now, breathing shallowly.

"Hurry," she croaked.

He nodded, tapping into the Queen's mind.

Black.

Black.

Red.

Black.

Black.

He pressed further.

Light, scarcely present.

Darkness, everywhere.

Cold.

Further.

The light slowly grew.

The darkness ebbed.

He stumbled backwards, letting the Queen go roughly.

Jaya sunk. The runes subsided, sinking back into her flesh as she fell into Dawn's warm wings.

"Jayagianne, Jayagianne, I'm right here." Dawn covered her in a feathery hug. "It's okay. We're here."

"I feel you." said the Queen softly, burying her face in Dawn's breast.

"Lady Jaya, your peer Snoke has asked of me to bring the girl to him," Kylo said. "He trusted that you would understand why."

Jaya stood up, petting her hair back down. "Ah… so he wishes to train the child." She stroked Dawn's beak gently. "As you saw, I have my… doubts… about raising another Sehrorian Sithlord."

"You know what he'll do if you say no, Lady Jaya."

"I'm well aware, dear boy. I suppose it can't be helped. I'd sell my own soul for the safety of this planet." She cast her gaze over the glimmering lights of the ballroom, barely out of eyesight. "I can give her to you, but… there is something I ought to show you before that, on one condition."

"What?"

"Remove that hideous mask."

He grunted, but obeyed, much to the bemusement of the auburn-haired ruler, who beckoned Dawn over. "Let him on."

"Fine."

Kylo hesitantly climbed onto the bird. Jaya clucked her tongue, climbing on behind him, and the three took to the skies.

"You know I am acquainted with the dark side of the force, dear, but you know not of the power I possess." The Sehroriran lights became tiny specks of stars. "There are only a few people like me in the galaxy. Those who harness both light and dark, in order to act as Agents of Balance. Galactic peacekeepers, able to manipulate not only the force but the laws of nature, on the condition that they protect every form of Existence."

Jaya closed her eyes, allowing the wind to tickle her face.

"Sehrorian Royalty - the house Nimyane - is the only lineage that consistently produces Agents. There tends to only be one in each generation. I am the only Agent amongst my three sisters. I don't sense Xylia's presence in the force, and Artemisha… she turned away from all light, into a being of darkness. The Agent of the next generation is obvious. Neither Arti or I produced offspring. Xylia has a single daughter."

Dawn landed at the mouth of a cave, decorated with vines and dangling crystals.

"This is the Sehrorian Deathbed. Every member of House Nimyane has died in this cave, the dust of their bodies scattered into space. The last place I saw my father, my mother… and my Artemisha."

She dismounted Dawn, offering Kylo Ren her hand. "Come inside."

They came upon a perfectly still pool of glowing water, set at the banks of a tiny meadow dotted with flowers of every colour. From the ceiling grew crystals that refracted the light produced from floating orbs on the pond, sending tiny rainbows across the room. At one end of the pond was a second tunnel just large enough to fit a person laying down, its end impossible to see from the meadow that Kylo Ren, Jaya, and Dawn now stood on.

Jaya pressed her hands together, and pulled them apart in front of her, fingers facing in. The air shimmered and shifted, figures starting to solidify out of the refraction.

"Watch," Jaya said softly.

Into the cave came another, younger Jaya.

"This is where it began… forty years ago."


	2. Chapter 2: Years Before

"Jaya."

King Jehovanne stumbled into his prepared birch canoe coughing, his weight causing ripples to traverse the pond.

"I'm so sorry I'm leaving you so soon."

Jaya crumpled to her knees, tears spilling out of her. "Father… father, no… father, PLEASE…"

"Hush, love. Why do you cry? Death is not something to grieve."

"I don't know what we're going to do without you," choked the girl between sobs.

"What you've always done…. Live." He sighed. "Your mother is the strongest woman I know, Jayagianne. She will pull through. So must you."

"Sehror needs its king."

"Nonsense." He chuckled. "I've told you hundreds of times, little lark… I was far less fit to rule than your mother. She was not always Avaiyana of House Nimyane. She was Avya, acolyte of the House of Assassins, Seh-pu-khurr, a girl given a mission to kill the crown prince- me."

"Stop wasting your breath," begged the scarcely 20 year old woman. "You'll go quicker."

He ignored the warning. "She saw something in me when she placed a knife at my throat… doubt. I did not know how to be a prince, nor a king, nor a commander. There was nothing in me, save my blood, that made me deserving of the throne. Something in that doubt moved her to spare me."

"Why are you telling me this?!"

"I'm telling you that I was a figurehead, Jayagianne. I fell in love with Avya's passion, her wit, her will, her strategy, her kindness, and above all that, her heart. It was she who pulled much of Sehror out of poverty, who restored this kingdom to the place it now is." Jehovanne beckoned the girl to come closer, which she did, still shaking with tears. "You, Artemisha, and Avaiyana are all this kingdom needs."

"Sehror may not need you, but I do." Jaya held his hands tight. "I haven't even begun my training in the ways of the Force, father. Who will teach me, if you're…" She bit her lip, unable to say the word. "...gone…?"

"We invested millions into a library, didn't we?" Clearly, the old king had not lost a bit of his sharp tongue. "I kid, little lark. You'll find a way."

"Without you, we don't have an Agent to protect us. What if we're attacked? Dad, just because the Empire's gone doesn't mean that we're no longer in danger. You can't go…"

"The fact that I can die, Jaya, is proof that I'm no longer needed." He ruffled her hair. "Now let me go. I love you, young one. Take care of your family."

The vision became ashy, and faded. More lights began to refract along the stones, swirling around the heads of the three onlookers. The scenery shifted into black. It was difficult to make out the exact surroundings- all that was truly visible were two people- a young woman with fiery red hair and the Jedi Master himself, Luke Skywalker.

"Arti, I'm fine." Luke winced as the woman carefully bandaged his arm. "Really."

"That brat…" Artemisha gritted her teeth. "I can't believe I was so foolish. I should have ended him the second you saw darkness."

"I wasn't scared of it."

"Well, we should have been."

"Artemisha, the Academy wasn't your responsibility. You have favor with the force, but you couldn't train these kids. Ben Solo is my fault."

Artemisha took a wet rag, and began wiping the scrapes off Luke's face.

"He hurt you. He killed those kids."

"You're making me feel a lot worse." The Jedi pushed her hand away. "I've got to go. Leia and Han will want to hear from me."

"But love-"

"Don't say that."

"Why can't I?" begged the young woman. "I love you, Luke. I need to be here, to protect and cherish you."

"You know it's against the Jedi code for me to return the feeling."

She grabbed his hands. "Why can't you look past a pile of old books? Why can't you let go and love me?"

Luke sighed, allowing himself to relent for just a second, basking in the warmth of her affection, before sighing and letting her hands go.

"Please, just allow yourself to feel something." Her eyes were still filled with hopeless, childish love. "You gave me this ring as a promise… that we would maybe, one day, be more than just companions. We can be happy together, Luke. Please come with me."

She kissed the metal band around her finger.

"I think about it every day… being able to live with you, forever, in peace."

There was silence, for a brief moment, until Luke stood and turned away from the woman.

"Go, Artemisha. I need to think about everything. Alone."

She reached out towards his back.

Everything turned red. The people, the shapeless room… even the air seemed to thicken like clotting blood. Three murky figures emerged from the shade, sharpening as they came closer, into view.

Artemisha - or whatever was left of her- held Kylo Ren in a Force Choke. Her brown irises were shattered into technicolor bits, and her skin appeared to be ripping into crevices of dark red energy, which bled all over the floor into pools. She smiled and tilted her head, causing the bones to make a sickly creaking sound.

"You took my Luke away from me, silly child. Now I'll take your life away from you."

She tightened her grip. The boy's face was slowly turning color, his eyes desperately searching for some type of escape.

"I want to watch the life leave your body."

She giggled.

"There's nothing left for you, Ben Solo. I'll kill you slowly."

A voice interrupted.

"Over my dead body."

Jaya ran in between the two, her eyes dark with fear. Artemisha sighed, dropping Ben to the floor, where he remained unconscious, and gave her sister a look of utter exasperation. "Really? You'd defend the murderous, evil, lying bastard?"

"He's a kid, Arti. Let him go."

"He's the kid that will end the galaxy as we know it!" Artemisha growled. "Get out of the way, Jayagianne, or I'll have to fight you."

"I said-"

Jaya placed a hand over her Aurichalcos stone, causing its circuit runes to cover her body and form a blade of light.

"-over my dead body."

"Don't say that, little lark," Artemisha said gently, her broken eyes softening. "I would never kill you."

Everything became a haze of red again. Over the nothingness, shouts could be heard, but only barely. The red ebbed into flashes of black at every shriek, sometimes covering the entire scene, other times only patching. When the vision cleared, red was nowhere but in Artemisha's hair, black nowhere but Ben's robes. It appeared that they had fought in the very same cave that the viewers had entered.

Jaya had Artemisha pinned to the ground. Both women were panting heavily, covered in scratches and bruises. The young queen had a hand raised ready to create another photon blade, clearly having bested her sister.

"You win." The cracks in Artemisha's skin were bleeding out. "I'm sorry I had to fight you, little sister. Let's call it even."

Jaya was silent.

"You can let me go, Jaya," said the older woman, hesitantly. "You've won."

…

"Jaya?"

…

"It's over, little lark."

…

"Jaya, can you hear me?! IT'S OVER! YOU WIN!"

Jaya's whole body began to shake. Light concentrated in her clenched fist.

"Jayagianne…?"

The light solidified into a sharp blade.

"Jaya, please. Don't do this. I'M SORRY, JAYA!" Artemisha fell into hysterics, thrashing with what remained of her strength, but her sister held firm.

"Jayagianne, I love you. I'd never hurt you."

…

"I was only trying to protect-"

Jaya plunged her blade deep.

Artemisha choked on her own blood.

The young queen stood, every breath shaking, and ripped the weapon out of her sister's chest. She turned away, her entire body as fragile as a leaf on a thermal.

"Jaya...gianne…?"

Jaya's eyes widened slightly.

"Arti?"

Artemisha reached towards her sister hazily.

Jaya didn't bother turning around, reaching out and Force choking the last bits of life out of her. She wordlessly picked Ben Solo's unconscious body up bridal style, and nudged Artemisha's corpse with her foot into the water.

As Past Jaya left the cave, the scenery shifted one last time.


	3. Chapter 3: Mother's Promise

"My dearest daughter."

Queen Avaiyana of Sehror was on her deathbed, in the most literal sense of the word. She was laid on a slab of bloodwood, carved with a concave to act as a sort of canoe to hold her body. Flowers and precious gems decorated her grey hair, sprinkled about her, filling the air with the scent of life. She held a simple silver circlet in her hands, which were folded atop her breast, heaving with labored breathing.

"Mom…"

Princess Jaya knelt by her mother, grasping her hands tenderly, yet there was a strange static to the way she begged.. "Don't go… I still need you."

"You need no one, Jayagianne." Jaya winced slightly at the childish name of endearment. "This planet has loved you as its queen since you were born… even if it wasn't always aware of it. Take care of our home, Jayagianne. Take care of Sehror. Take care of your family."

"My family's gone now, Mom…"

"No."

Avaiyana's voice was barely a whisper.

"There is one more."

Jaya's eyes widened.

"No…"

"Find her, Jayagianne. Promise me you will find out what happened to your eldest sister."

"I… I don't…"

"Find Xylia."

Her mother placed the circlet around Jaya's head with shaky hands.

"She was trained to be a Jedi… went into hiding by my request at age 18… then vanished…"

"How long has she been gone?"

"Thirty years."

"She'll be near impossible to track down." Jaya's voice went cold - a temper familiar to that she took on when giving executive orders. "I'm sorry, Mother, I don't have time. With the First Order's rise, I must be present for negotiations over our planet."

"Lovely lotus flower, you're immortal, with all the time in the world!" She smiled, brushing her daughters's wispy hair away from her eyes.

"Ageless, mother," sighed Jaya, relenting. "Not immortal. I will die when I fall out of favor with the Dark Side of the Force. It's as the Sith Lords say."

"I still can't believe you maintain ties with the dead order."

"It must be done."

"You're changing the subject. I see you've inherited that talent from me." The old queen sighed gently. "To find your sister is my dying wish to you, Jayagianne… and my dying spell to my Aurichalchos."

Avaiyana closed her eyes, and the green stone in her crown glowed a soft white.

_"Aurichalcos Trouvehri."_

The Finding Spell.

"I seek Xylia's daughter."

She removed her stone tenderly, and pressed it into Jaya's hands, which shook as they took it and pulled it close to her heart.

"Go, Jayagianne. Find her. Her power can end the war…"

She smiled.

"...and her heart can save your soul."

"Mom."

Avaiyana smiled tenderly at her daughter. "Do not ask too many questions of me! I'm no wise queen, only a capable one."

"You were wise, mom. You were the wisest there was. And you were tender." Tears began trickling from Jaya's eyes. "And you knew how to love people, and how to protect our home… I may be immortal, but I'm still such a fool…"

"You, Jayagianne, are no fool."

Avaiyana's boat began slowly drifting away.

"My sweet lark, I ask that you listen to my last message." She plucked a petal off her breast, kissed it, and tossed it to the skies. It landed gently in Jaya's outstretched hands.

"I love you, dearest Jaya, my daughter, my Gianne. You may see yourself as a Cursed Agent of Balance, between Dark and Light, unable to truly live, but unable to truly die. You may see yourself as a ruthless murderer, after taking Artemisha's life to save Ben Solo. You may see yourself as worthless… but I see you as a great warrior, better than myself or your father, a brilliant strategist, a loving teacher, and the very best Queen that Sehror shall ever have."

The modern Jaya smiled bitterly, reciting her mother's last words alongside her.

_"The Dark Side shall always fight for you, Padiwan, but do not let it take you over. Never let go of why you follow the Light."_

_As Avaiyana's body entered the tunnel, the vision shimmered and faded into nothingness._

The three stood in silence.

"Here."

Jaya reached into her Aurichalcos, which sat on a pendant around her neck. She pulled out a second one, and pressed it into Kylo Ren's hands.

"It still seeks Xylia's bloodline. If you follow it, this shall lead you to the child."

"Come with me." Kylo Ren turned to face Jaya. "Snoke will want to see you."

The queen gave a halfhearted, crafty smile. "Is that the only reason you wish for my company, Bengianne?"

Kylo turned away, completely unsure of how to respond.

"I know you care, dear boy." Jaya swept him into a hug, and hesitantly, it was reciprocated. "I know you're alone, and afraid. I give you the girl, not because I wish for her to be a weapon, but because I know she can save your soul."

She let go, placing a hand on his cheek with teary eyes. "Mine's beyond redemption, after all. You have a chance."

"I…"

"Go. They need you."

He nodded.

"Thank you, Lady Jaya."

He turned to leave, but Jaya gave a little tsk. "You might need a ride back. Dawn?

"Yes, milady?"

"Go with Ben, please."

Dawn ruffled her feathers in protest. "But Jaya - your protection…"

"I'll be fine, Dawntreader." Jaya gave the bird's snout a pat. "Don't be too worried about me, darling. The Aurichalcos can take care of me. Watch over him."

"Fine," grumbled the Thorn Hawk, and sat down.

Kylo Ren climbed on the bird's back, then looked over at the Queen. "One more thing, before I go."

"Oh?"

"Did you find out the name of the girl?"

Jaya nodded, and smiled gently.

"Her name is…"

* * *

**"FAE!"**

The audience in the arena roared as the reigning champion entered the arena from the skies, landing in a crouch and folding her slim feathered wings behind her. Her eyes scanned the battlefield, trying to get a sense of every whoosh of grass, the pattern of bark on each tree.

**"Our Reigning Champion has returned to reclaim her crown in this month's Duels! Armed with the raven carapace Shira, this girl has climbed her way to the top! She's not to be UNDERESTIMATEEEED!"**

Fae waved a scale-covered hand at the audience. As she turned, the shimmering black pattern of a bird's body and wings was visible on her carapace's back.

**"And facing off against Fae…"** A slim, catsuitted woman strode out onto the field, waving clawed fingers. **"EVELIN!"**

More cheering.

**"Don't let her proportions fool you- Evelin and her serpent carapace Belinda make one helluva pair. This lady's stolen the crown more times than any other female we've ever seen set foot into this ring! Get too close, and you'll get burned!"**

Fae sized her opponent up. Tall, lithe, with a good bit of strength in her thighs and slimness in her arms. Clearly an assassin - trained to be seductive to catch her prey off guard before killing it.

"You must've had an easy way up," commented the shorter woman.

"Oh yes," sighed Evelin, as her carapice folded over her face, shaped like the jaws of a serpent. "Those men underestimate girls like you and me, Fae. I really don't want to kill your carapace. It's quite the beastie, honestly."

"Yeah, well," Fae equipped her living armor with a smile. A black helmet with a beaklike point covered her head, gathering her hair up into a long copper-red ponytail, and she flicked her wrists, landing one blade in each hand. "You won't have to."

The helmet's eyes lit up like rubies.

**"Now, Remember: It's only a fight to your carapices' death, not your own! Let's not spill too many guts today." **The crowd roared for blood.

Evelin raised an arm, a lasher attatching itself to her hand.

**"Ready…"**

Fae exhaled, spreading jet black wings.

**"FIGHT!"**


End file.
